CHILD ACTOR IMPRESSES IN FIRST-EVER FILM “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL”

The crux challenge of casting TriStar Pictures’ new mystery drama “Heaven Is For Real” was the search for a very special child who could play real-life character, Colton Burpo, with the natural, easy-going innocence that made his story so persuasive. 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

 

In the film, 7-year-old Colton is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery and miraculously survives.  But his family is wholly unprepared for what happens next -- Colton starts to matter-of-factly recount what he says was an amazing journey to heaven and back.

 

“Finding Colton was a huge challenge because the movie could not succeed if Colton seemed artificial. If you believed that he was just reciting lines, you would never believe any of what he was saying,” director Randall Wallace explains. 

 

Casting director Sheila Jaffe launched a search across America – but it wasn’t until the very end that they found their Colton.  “We saw a lot of tapes and finally got down to eight boys.  Seven boys were very similar to one another but one boy was different,” remembers producer Joe Roth. 

 

That one boy was then five year-old Cleveland native Connor Corum.  “He was incredibly natural, and he wasn’t thrown by anything.  Once we saw him there was no choice – he was the kid,” Roth continues. 

 

            When actor Greg Kinnear started working with Connor he was enthralled by his lack of artifice.  “He’s kind of the greatest version of an actor, in the sense that everything that he does is on instinct, it’s effortless, it’s just kind of there without any artificiality to it.  It really makes me mad,” he quips.

 

            Much as this opportunity was a thrill for Connor, his mother Shannon says they were cautious about it at first.  “Initially, it was a mixed bag of emotions.  There was certainly some concern about whether we were thrusting our son into the limelight and also about whether he would be able to stay grounded and enjoy his childhood,” she recalls.  “On the other hand, it was pure excitement and joy and something really positive for our family.  My grandfather, who turned 95 last October, was thrilled.  He’s a very spiritual man and I really feel like this has given him something wonderful to focus on in his life.”

 

            Working with Connor came naturally for Wallace, who helped to set the family at ease.  “I’m the father of sons and I’m a little boy myself still, at heart, so I wanted Connor to come onto the set and feel that he was part of a great, big family,” he says. 

 

            Wallace continues:  “He’s a brilliant young man.  He always came to set prepared and Greg was wonderful working with Connor.  Sometimes I would say ‘action’ and we’d film the scene and the magic would happen right there.  Other times Connor would be full of energy, distracted and bouncing off the walls and we’d have to wait and let him calm down. What ultimately happened, when he forgot that it was a movie, he just began to be that character in that space, which is what we want of any actor, and then he was riveting.”

 

            “Heaven is for Real” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Different Christian Denominations In U.S. Endorses “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL”

"What better way for us to celebrate the Easter season! We're going to tell everyone we know: Go see this movie! Regardless of your religious beliefs, you'll be deeply inspired.” That's the ringing endorsement of renowned Hollywood executive Mark Burnett (TV's “Survivor” and History Channel's “The Bible”) after previewing Columbia Pictures' faith-based drama, “Heaven Is For Real.”

 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

"It's is an inspiring film that is a great first step for people who are on the journey, and a great film to foster conversations with unbelievers," concurred Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, “Heaven Is For Real” brings to the screen the true story that has inspired millions across the globe – that of a little boy’s extraordinary, life-changing experience, and his father’s search for the courage and conviction to share his son’s discovery with the world. 

 

Academy Award®-nominee Greg Kinnear (“Little Miss Sunshine”) stars as Todd Burpo, a small-town businessman, volunteer firefighter and pastor struggling to make ends meet in a tough year for his family. After his bright young son Colton (Connor Corum) is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, Todd and his wife Sonja (Kelly Reilly) are overjoyed by his miraculous survival. But they are wholly unprepared for what happens next -- Colton starts to matter-of-factly recount what he says was an amazing journey to heaven and back. As Colton innocently tells his parents details of things he couldn't possibly know, Todd finds himself colliding against a wall of mystery and doubt, until he breaks through to rediscover hope, wonder and the strength of purpose. 

 

At the real-life Burpos' urging, “Heaven Is For Real” producer Joe Roth joined together with T.D. Jakes, a popular pastor and spiritual leader, to bring the project to the screen. Jakes, was moved by the story’s demonstrated ability to make a difference to all who came across it – from those seeking encouragement in their faith to those just curious to know more. 

 

“I think anyone can relate to an ordinary family who is grappling with the biggest questions,” Jakes says. “We’ve all known tragedy and adversity -- and I think to see this family go through a crisis, and find a place of real resolution, it helps others to believe they’ll find their own place of resolution.”

Other respected members of America's Christian community have also endorsed the film, including Kenneth Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, who said, "I read Todd Burpo's book, `Heaven is for Real.' It BLESSED me and brought the joy of hope alive to how bright our future in Jesus really is. The movie did a sweet job of bringing that same TRUTH to light that HEAVEN IS REAL!"

For her part, Kim Dorr-Tilley, Associate Pastor of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church, wrote "In this gifted and grace-filled vision from filmmaker Randall Wallace, we experience what is impossible and possible, where doubt and faith collide, where flawed humans emerge as beloved children. This film allows all of us to encounter and participate in a conversation hinged where life and death meet." 

 

"This film opens the door to the reality of Heaven and the love of God. Through the eyes of four-year Colton, we catch a glimpse of an affectionate and caring God who calls us to an eternal community of love and joy. The evidence for this is presented in a respectful way that allows viewers to make their own judgments. It will be encouraging to believers and potentially helpful for skeptics and people 'sitting on the fence,” recommended Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. 

 

Meanwhile, Angel Ruiz of Young Life Field Ministry testified, "`Heaven Is For Real' is an incredibly powerful and refreshing account of a story that resonates with an innate desire that we all have: to see Jesus. I highly recommend this movie for the whole family!"

Finally, Dr. Sheron C. Patterson of The United Methodists of North Texas Conference, concluded, "It is a blessing to have `Heaven Is For Real' in theatres nationwide. The masses of people need to see that there is power in prayer and that there are modern-day miracles. Colton's story confirms for even the most hardened atheist that there is a God, and God is good!”

Opening across the Philippines on Black Saturday, April 19, “Heaven is for Real” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

No. 1 BESTSELLER “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL” NOW INSPIRES IN THE BIG SCREEN

In 2010, a book by an unknown author – fueled entirely by word-of-mouth and the fiery enthusiasm of curious and inspired readers – suddenly and from out of the blue hit the vaunted #1 position on the New York Times best-seller list. This was Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent’s Heaven Is For Real and it would go on to sell millions of copies with over 10 million in print worldwide and to be translated into 35 languages, while sparking lively conversations about the nature of life, faith and eternity among families and communities everywhere. 
 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Now, TriStar Pictures' new drama “Heaven Is For Real” brings to the screen the true story that has inspired millions across the globe – that of a little boy’s extraordinary, life-changing experience, and his father’s search for the courage and conviction to share his son’s discovery with the world.

 

The soaring journey of the book began with a parent’s worst nightmare: a sick little boy doctors said was unlikely to pull through. But little Colton did pull through and that was just the beginning of his surprises. After he recovered, the 4 year-old began to tell an incredible story: that during his touch-and-go surgery he had gone to heaven and been shown a realm of indescribable beauty and supreme peace, even meeting deceased relatives he had never known personally.

 

At first, the Burpos were unsure what to make of their son’s revelations. He had such a childlike innocence when talking about it, they were 100% convinced he wasn’t making it up. But even though they were already people of faith – indeed, Todd served as a pastor in their small Nebraska town – they were suddenly confronted with questions they had never really considered. Sure, they had talked and thought plenty about heaven in the abstract; but was it possible their son had experienced it for real? And if he had unlocked one of life’s greatest mysteries . . . should they, and how could they, share this bewildering event with a world prone to disbelief and skepticism? 

 

It was this part of Todd Burpo’s journey – through a storm of doubt and into standing up for his son and his own hard-won convictions – that intrigued the filmmakers behind the book’s screen adaptation. They saw a story that nearly anyone who has wondered about life, death and the meaning of it all, or ever took a risk for their deepest beliefs, could relate to on a personal level. 

 

Veteran Hollywood producer Joe Roth initially read about the Burpos in a two-paragraph item about the book even before it was published. Having produced dozens of hit films since the 1970s, Roth’s instincts were instantly set in motion. 

 

“I’ve had a habit these past 40 years of reading the New York Times book section in the hope that I’ll come across something that nobody else has thought of – and up until now it’s never worked because by the time it makes the Times someone’s already bought it,” Roth recounts. “But when I read about this book, it seemed like such a terrific idea for a movie. It poses a question everybody asks: what happens when you die? It doesn’t matter what religion or background you come from, or whether you lived 2000 years ago or in 2014, it’s a question that intrigues everyone. “ 

 

The nature of the Burpo family, pillars of the community in a small heartland town, made it even more relatable and inherently dramatic, Roth felt. “Here you have a pastor who when confronted with his son’s story, wasn’t really quite sure he if believed it himself and was in conflict about whether he should stir up the townspeople, or simply put it aside,” Roth explains. “And he did the unsafe thing, which was appealing to me -- he backed his son’s vision even though it could have potentially lost him his job and made him quite unpopular in the town.” 

 

Roth was thrilled to find he was the first major producer to approach the Burpos – and just four weeks after he made a deal with them, his instincts were rewarded, when the book hit #1 on the bestseller list, demonstrating its broad cultural appeal. 

 

“Heaven is for Real” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.